Barely Tolerable
by nulli secundus
Summary: Mr. Darcy assesses the offering at the Meryton Ball, and Elizabeth does not take rejection lying down. Elizabeth proves that she is handsome enough, after all, to tempt a Mr. Darcy. Pairing: Darcy/Elizabeth.


**Barely Tolerable**

**_A contained Darcy assesses the offerings of the locality at the Meryton Assembly._**

Pairing: Darcy/Elizabeth

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Mr. Darcy assesses the offering at the Meryton Ball, and Elizabeth does not take rejection lying down.

**This story is often updated at [austenerotica].[blog][spot].[co].[uk] first while I am beta-ing it, so you can also check there for updates.**

Elizabeth proves that she is handsome enough, after all, to tempt a Mr. Darcy.

Mr. Darcy stood by Mr. Bingley at the end of the hall, and suffered the introduction to each mother in the hall who had a daughter to marry off. Most made no attempt to hide their visual assessment of him and his friend, as if they might confirm the rumours of their wealth by staring long enough.

Caroline Bingley suffered too. She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, while thrusting her décolletage unsubtly at Darcy at every chance she could.

He knew her game, but could not help but be a bit tempted. He was sure no gentlewoman could be so improper as Caroline. She abused fashion to make him think wicked things about her body, and he was never quite sure that the french fashions she declared to be exemplifying could really be quite so scandalous in their native form. She was pushing him to perversity with her continual onslaught of temptation.

Just this morning, she had wandered into the breakfast room, greeted him with a very breathy_ "Good morning, Mr. Darcy"_, and bent over the breakfast table so low that Darcy was certain he could see the full contour of her bust. Darcy was sorely tempted to try her on, but as she was Bingley's sister, he could not enjoy her without long term consequences.

Darcy had wanted to push her over the breakfast table, pull up her petticoats, and force her to feel the harlot that these french fashions made her out to be.

He wanted to pull her breasts from the top of her shift and flick those delicious nipples, tweaking them as punishment for always being so visible. He knew Caroline would have a wicked quim indeed. If it was anything like her mouth, he would enjoy stuffing it with his cock immensely.

But Darcy was a gentleman and a catch, and knew better than to let the temptation of Caroline Bingley's immodesty to ensnare him forever.

Now at the ball, he was almost regretting not fucking Caroline over the breakfast table. Her neckline was so low it seemed to allow him to see the outline of her nipples, and Darcy wanted dearly to fuck some modesty into her.

He pulled himself away from those thoughts to pay attention to a Mrs. Lucas who was introducing her daughters. Darcy assessed their figures. Two of them had sizeable busts, but then their faces outweighed the compliments their chests might attract. The third, and eldest was plain, and did not possess a chest nor a face worth noticing.

Darcy wondered what it would be like if they could all be more honest about their offerings, and imagined briefly all the women of the town being introduced with their skirts raised and quims hot and wet, ready for a brief sampling by the Darcy manhood. He would thrust his cock and assess each cunny for tightness, feel, and general enjoyment, and cum in the one he preferred most. A meritocracy of sex.

Instead he had to deal with the pretence required of polite society.

A Mrs. Bennet was presenting her five daughters to his companion, and Darcy felt the attention shift to him.

_If she really wanted to show her daughters in their best light_, thought Darcy,_ she should have them spread their legs._

The Miss Bennets were far more attractive in general, and Darcy vaguely heard his companion engage in the eldest, Miss Jane Bennet, to dance. The second eldest, Miss Elizabeth, looked at him with some hope of similarly being asked and responding immediately by turning away, Darcy ensured she lowered that expectation.

He had no patience for dancing He was being driven wild with frustration. How would he last the rest of his stay with Bingley when his sister was constantly trying to entrap him? He had not thought much of marriage and thought less of it now that it must be Caroline's chief objective. Still, he was a man with natural male urges. He could not deny that Caroline was beautiful, and she inspired lust be simply being the only elegant form in constant presence.

Bingley had danced four sets, and approach Darcy with some determination.

"Why do you not dance?" he said.

Darcy smiled, "You dance enough for the both of us!"

"Come now, are none of the girls handsome enough to catch your eye?"

Darcy could sense the ears of neighbourhood mothers turned and angled, expecting the answer to Bingley's pleasant question.

"I'm afraid you are dancing with the prettiest girl in the room, and you know I hate to come in second."

"What about her sister, Miss Elizabeth? Is she not very pretty?" said Bingley

"Barely tolerable, I dare say. But not handsome enough to tempt me."

Bingley knew when there would be no good in push any farther, and left him for another reel while Darcy turned intending to find more refreshment and avoid any more conversation with the local genteel.

Instead, he turned to face a rather pink Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who had clearly been making her way back from the refreshment table herself when she must have overheard him comments.

Her blush, starting at her cheeks, was now spreading, and seemed to stop just on contact with her delicate collar bones, and her breath had hitched, mid-tremble at her breasts, on bumping into him. Her eyes, intelligent but caught by surprise, being embarrassed and at the same time darkening with anger, glowed brightly.

He was embarrassed, of course. How could he have said such a thing and allowed a lady to hear it? How could he have been so wounding to someone he had barely looked at?

He had not really looked at her before, and certainly in her current glory, it was worth looking at her again properly at any rate. Her surprise was wearing off, her pride recovering. She laughed a full but pretty laugh, eyes twinkling bright but with some malice.

"You might want to be thankful that it would have never been my attention to tempt you, Mr. Darcy." she said softly for his ears only, and was suddenly away and out of sight.

Darcy groaned. A woman had never had such a sudden affect on him without being overtly sexually suggestive. Something about the fire in her eyes and when her blush had not yet worn away had brought his lust out fully. He had listened to what she said, but was fixated on the first image he had encountered of her pink lips, slightly parted in surprise. How might those lips feel pressed against him? Would they accommodate him gently? What liberties would they allow him? He hardened further and was started to feel a great discomfort in his britches. He would have to leave the ball early now, to save himself from further embarrassment on at least two counts. Caroline be damned!


End file.
